SURGEONS whose use of a modified stomach operation has improved survival rates among Gwent cancer patients have won a prestigious award from the country where the technique was pioneered.

The work of Wyn Lewis and his team at Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital with a modified surgical technique for stomach cancer patients has been recognised by Japanese experts.

A paper detailing the outcomes for Gwent patients who have undergone a modified D2 gastrectomy in recent years won the Nishi Memorial Award, worth $2,000, from the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association.

"The award is named after an eminent Japanese surgeon. Members of the association vote for the best paper on a subject, and ours won its category and was in the top three overall," said Mr Lewis.

"It's a tough award to win and it seldom goes outside Japan."

The D2 gastrectomy was originally developed in Japan, but early results in European hospitals showed that it produced a higher number of post-operative complications and little benefit in long-term survival, compared to the more established and less radical D1 gastrectomy.

The D2 technique was modified and has been performed at the Royal Gwent for several years.

For people with early stomach cancer, the five-year survival rate, at 80 per cent, is the same for the two types of gastrectomy performed - D1 and modified D2.

But in Gwent, for late, stage-two and -three stomach cancer, the five-year survival rate for modified D2 is 48 per cent, compared with 22 per cent for D1.

Stomach cancer is discovered in 400-500 people every year in Wales, and kills 4,000 people a year in the United Kingdom.

The Royal Gwent team's results and research have also been well received at gatherings of world experts in New York and Rome.

The award-winning paper, entitled D2 or not D2? The Gastrectomy Question, is also the subject of a completely different type of award bid.

Some brave soul is attempting to translate its often complex medical and statistical language into Welsh, in a bid to land a translation prize at this year's National Eisteddfod of Wales, to be held in Newport.